In recent years, a nano-imprint method attracts attention as a technique for forming fine patterns. According to the nano-imprint method, a template is brought into contact with a resist applied on a substrate to be processed, so that concave patterns of the template are filled with the resist. Then, the resist is cured by irradiation with light, such as ultraviolet rays. The resist is made of a photo-setting material. Thereafter, the template is released from the resist. Consequently, a resist pattern is formed such that it has concave and convex patterns reversed from those formed on the template.
The template has a mesa structure that includes a mesa surface provided with the concave and convex patterns and an off-mesa surface other than the mesa surface, such that the mesa surface protrudes by several tens μm relative to the off-mesa surface. When pressing is performed by use of the template having this structure, a phenomenon occurs such that the resist is leaked out from part of the mesa end. As a result, a leaked resist portion is formed as a resist structure with a height of several μm at the mesa end. The leaked resist portion has a height about 100 times larger than that of the main pattern formed by nano-imprint. Accordingly, if the template includes the leaked resist portion thus formed, it becomes difficult to perform resist removal and reworking, after processing. Further, in a case where a nano-imprint process is performed by use of a step and repeat method, when the imprint process is applied to a region near an imprinted region at which the leakage has occurred, the leaked resist portion hinders pressing of the template and thereby generates an unfilled defect of a large scale.